Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter

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Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb describes how integral beavers are to building healthier ecosystems for humans and non-humans alike and introduces us to 'Beaver Believers,' a coalition of scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens who are trying to champion these "hardy rodents."

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Goldfarb’s evident affection for beavers shines through the book. When he goes one-on-one with beavers, their individual personalities come through. Occasionally he gets carried away ... But here’s the take-home message: Goldfarb has built a masterpiece of a treatise on the natural world, how that world stands now and how it could be in the future if we protect beaver populations. He gives us abundant reasons to respect environment-restoring beavers and their behaviors, for their own good and for ours.

His entirely captivating new book...is surely the most passionate, most detailed, and most readable love-note these dour furry little workaholics will ever get ... He relates the intricacies of their natural history with enormous, happy energy—this is the ultimate start-here book for anybody interested in beavers—and he makes the strongest case yet for the extensive benefits beavers provide for their wider surroundings, far more extensive benefits than are typically attributed to these anti-social little brutes. And through it all, Goldfarb maintains a level of fandom that's downright charming. Eager is a fascinating snapshot of the beaver's current conservational moment, and it's a thought-provoking exploration of the benefits beavers bring to the land.

In his intriguing debut...environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb details the multitude of ways beavers impact the landscape ... Through interviews with experts in the field, scientific studies, statistical analysis and his own experiences crisscrossing the U.S. and the U.K. to witness beavers up close and personal, Goldfarb explains how restoring these 'ecosystem engineers' to their natural habitat can save tens of millions of dollars each year and help combat drought, climate change and other environmental issues ... As Goldfarb reinforces, beavers are 'nothing less than continent-scale forces of nature, in large part responsible for sculpting the land upon which we Americans built our towns and raised our food.' It’s a wake-up call that needs to be answered.